Maximizing Sales and Marketing Reach in Your 2013 Business Initiatives

eCommerce is a powerful tool in the marketer’s arsenal today – and given the intensity of global competition today, sellers can’t afford to leave any source of competitive advantage on the table. In
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eCommerce is a powerful tool in the marketer’s arsenal today – and given the intensity of global competition today, sellers can’t afford to leave any source of competitive advantage on the table. In this session, Ariba experts and customer panelists will highlight four opportunities every marketer can use to maximize sales and extend their marketing reach. We’ll discuss:
• The importance of leveraging effective online channels to boost lead generation and enhance company visibility
• How to leverage Ariba Discovery to focus on seller marketing and lead generation
• Best practices for enhancing lead generation
• How sellers can seize the “Spot Buy” opportunity to get a foot in the door with buyers under pressure to secure goods and services quickly

Update contact details- A common pitfall is forgetting to regularly update contact details in the Ariba profile; if someone changes jobs or leaves the company, a valuable lead from Ariba Discovery could end up in oblivion - Ensure that company demographics, certifications, links, attachments, etc. are all included- Many new fields are available, such as XXXXXXXX- Ensure the right people in your organization have the right permissions (e.g., to answer Discovery postings)- Assign specific users to specific buyer accounts or account groups - Create a vanity URL to make it easier for buyers to find you &lt;CLICK WHILE ON SLIDE TO SHOW A VANITY URL EXAMPLE&gt;- The more complete your profile, the more likely it is to be seenGet the commodity right- Nothing ensures proper buyer-seller matching more than the commodity type- Get matched to the right buying opportunities based on your selection- Ariba uses the product-centric UNSPSC codesPromote your profile with the new ProfilePitch feature- Get in front of active buyers by creating targeted ProfilePitches that will be shown right within the buyers’ sourcing solutionProfilePitches are customized and measurable profiles that are for a specific prospect, line of business, geography, or any other categorization While one ProfilePitch is included “out-of-the-box,” you may review and update it if desired- Ariba Discovery Advantage members have up to five available- Ariba Discovery Advantage Plus members have unlimited availableVerify accuracy – anyone who sees your profile has access to the social media buttons to share it!

Clicking on any of these buttons from a complete profile will “publish” your profile to your presence on these social media outletsFacebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and e-mail buttons are availableAnyone else who sees your profile can also click on these buttons if they like what they see; this will also publish you to their social media presence

Download the “Find us on Ariba” badge and use it on your own websiteMultiple sizes of badges are availableHTML code included, enabling you to embed the image and link it to your desired profile, depending upon where you choose to use itUnlimited use on your e-mail signature, websites, and in social media profiles that allow graphicsYou can also use it on the back of your real business card along with your vanity URL

Reinforce your credibility with buyers by displaying references on your profile Request references right from your profile — as many as you wantReferences appear on your profile just like ratings appear on Amazon.com or eBay listingsReferences are not limited to others on the Ariba Network – anyone can be a reference!

Upgrade to Ariba Discovery Advantage or Advantage Plus, and become Ariba Ready, to further raise your visibility and credibility with buying organizationsAdditional Discovery benefits far outweigh the nominal costs*Free responses to RFI/RFQ postings and collaboration with buyersMore direct contact messages with buyers allowedLarger number of ProfilePitchesPremium profile and prioritized listing in buyer search resultsPriority support

When I set up the company in 2009 – I was the only employee. Now with 12 permanent employees, my role combines finance, purchasing, marketing and of course, my first love…recruitment for select clients.